Cichlidae

Blue discus

Symphysodon aequifasciatus

Schooling until breeding turns root crevices territorial

• Blue
• Brown
• Orange
• Tropical
• Regional distribution
• Freshwater fish
• Africa
• Compressed
• Medium
• Tropical fish

Celebrated across the world as the undisputed monarch of freshwater aquarium fishes, the blue discus is a majestic, laterally compressed cichlid endemic to the forested floodplain rivers of the Amazon basin. Its disc-shaped, nearly circular body displays a warm amber or olive-brown base crossed by nine vertical dark bars that darken or fade dramatically in response to environmental mood and stress. Brilliant turquoise, azure, and neon-blue wavy longitudinal striations ripple across the forehead, nape, and prolonged dorsal and anal fins, creating an ethereal swimming silhouette. Native to the calm backwaters, slow tributaries, and flooded forest margins of the Rio Solimões and central Amazon, it inhabits deep, shaded blackwater and clearwater environments among submerged tree tangles down to five meters depth. Highly social, peaceful schools weave serenely through tangled tree roots, browsing delicately on periphyton, microcrustaceans, and freshwater sponge detritus. Parental care is extraordinary: after adhesive eggs hatch on vertical submerged wood, both parents secrete a nutrient-rich epidermal mucus across their bodies upon which the free-swimming fry browse exclusively for weeks. Maximum recorded total length reaches seventeen centimetres.

Sources: FishBase — Blue Discus, Symphysodon aequifasciatus